Game three of five for OKC in Vegas. James Harden was awesome Tuesday night against the Lakers, as were Kyle Weaver’s defensive skills. Tonight, for the love of Congo, snap out of it Serge Ibaka and play like you did in Orlando. I was really fired up about the thought of Ibaka being good enough to not only make the roster, but also maybe seeing some meaningful playing time. But he just hasn’t played well thus far in Vegas.
Who do the Spurs got?
A couple guys to watch tonight for the Spurs: George Hill is easily their best player, but DeJuan Blair is who I’m most interested to see play. It was surprising to see him slip into the second round, and I always like to see how guys do that we passed on. Malik Hairston is a quality scorer and James Gist was a good college player at Maryland and a decent player overseas. The Spurs also have Jack McClinton, a guy that can light the gym on fire if he gets going.
A cool article about Bill Branch, the architect behind Oklahoma City’s summer roster: ”But the Thunder has been watching each of the six roster invitees for years. Guard Keith McLeod, for example, is a veteran player looking to extend his career. Branch knew McLeod is a high-character guy who was willing to come in and play backup minutes at the point. The Thunder liked what it saw in 6-8 forward Doug Thomas last summer when he played for the Chicago Bulls Summer League team. Oklahoma City had him in during its European mini-camp in May, which provided an avenue to invite the physical, hard-working Thomas to Summer League. The Thunder also was familiar with forward Moses Ehambe, an Oral Roberts product who spent last season with the Tulsa 66ers and also speaks the same language as Ibaka.”
Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub looking at the market for Rajon Rondo: “The Thunder are a bit over $30 million in guaranteed deals for 2010-11, assuming Nenad Krstic elects to take his $5.8 million player option (duh). In theory, this leaves room for a run at Rondo, but: a) the Thunder appear committed to Russell Westbrook at point guard; and b) Kevin Durant and Jeff Green will be restricted free agents after the 2011 season, so it’s not like the Thunder are going to be tossing around money after the 2010 season unless they want to go well over the luxury tax later.” Read more…
If you were 7’2″ and 260 lbs, what sport would you likely play? NASCAR? Golf? And within that sport, what position do you reckon you’d be slotted at? Hint: It doesn’t start with a “G” or an “F” and it rhymes with “renter.” It doesn’t take Jack Ramsey to figure this stuff out.
But don’t tell Byron Mullens this. He said last week in Orlando that he’s no center. He’s a power forward. And I guess I believe him. Because that’s sure how he plays.
We’ve seen Mullens in a total of seven professional games and I can remember only two post moves – one an airballed hook shot and the other a step-back jumper from the block. Out of 53 shot attempts, just two post moves from a 7’2″ guy. Two post moves. For someone that is 86 inches tall. That makes about as much sense as Christian Bale still using his Batman voice when he was talking to Lucius.
But don’t just blame B.J. Byron Nelson James Mullens. Because by all appearances the true center is dying, one seven-footer at a time or as Clark Matthews put it in an email, “The center position should be on the endangered species list next to albino otters.” It’s a basketball epidemic. Or I guess maybe it’s just an evolution in the game. Who knows? We’re seeing more and more Amare’s, Mehmet Okur’s and David Lee’s and less Shaq’s, Al Jefferson’s and Yao Ming’s. Heck, look at guys like Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Nenad Krstic. They’re seven-feet tall but they prefer the pick and pop instead of the post and score.
In Mullens’ defense, he is uniquely gifted for a guy that size. He has nice touch on his jumper and he’s absurdly athletic for his size. He’s not some stiff that just takes up space. He really has the skills of a jumpshooting power forward. But combine that with at least a mediocre post game and match him up against slower, less athletic guys of similar size and wouldn’t he be a matchup nightmare? Well, that’s just what common sense says. Read more…
Randy Hill of Fox Sports looks at teams moving up: ”OKC – We can consider this team upgraded by simply tearing another year off of the calendar. But the maturing Thunder also used the third overall pick in the first round to select a card-carrying shooting guard named James Harden. What Harden provides is a legitimate two guard whose presence will continue to discourage anyone affiliated with personnel groupings to put Kevin Durant back at shooting guard, where he couldn’t defend a bear in a phone booth.”
Oklahoma City led for virtually the entire game but poor defense and bad execution late let the Lakers come back and take a 74-68 win in the most important basketball game in history. Some observations:
Tonight was the James Harden show. After his worst Summer League game Sunday night (just four points), he put together a full line: 23 points on 9-14 shooting (2-5 from 3), five rebounds, five assists and two steals. After the Thunder had scored just two points in five and half minutes to start the third, Harden ripped off 11 straight. He hit a nice 20-footer and was fouled on it, then nailed back-to-back threes and finished it off with a driving layup.
Harden and Kyle Weaver took turns running a lot of point guard tonight with mixed results. Weaver had a nice game (10 points, three rebounds, eight assists, three blocks, two steals), but he turned it over four times. Sometimes it seems like Weaver tries to make the excellent pass too often. Maybe you can thread the needle with a no-look dish, but more than likely you can’t, but most times Weaver will try it anyway. Every player is guilty of forcing passes, but Weaver gets fancy a lot and tries it too much. Harden did a pretty good job running point, but with him distributing and not a lot of options on the wing, the offense really stalled. I think things would work really well with Harden at the point if he has Russell Westbrook, KD and Jeff Green alongside him. Read more…
After that disaster Sunday night against Memphis, let’s hope for a slightly better effort tonight. No Russell Westbrook this evening for Oklahoma City, but everybody else should be good to go. I’d like to see James Harden assert himself a little more in the offense and hopefully Serge Ibaka plays a little more like he did in Orlando.
The team was clearly tired Sunday night after five games in five days and then a trip cross country. If anything, you just want to to see them get their legs back under them and compete. Wins don’t matter one bit in Summer League, but getting better sure does. And going through games half-way doesn’t get you any better.
Also Oklahomans that prefer orange may take more interest in this game than most as it could feature three former Cowboys: Marcus Dove playing for the Thunder and Terrel Harris and David Monds for the Lakers.
The Las Vegas Sun on Shaun Livingston: “Today, the NBA is more of a young man’s game than it’s ever been. That said, it may be tougher to find an older soul in the league than baby-faced, rail-thin 23-year-old Shaun Livingston. Before even hitting the age where car insurance begins to come relatively cheap, the 6-foot-7 point guard has been a prodigy, a budding star, the victim of a horrific freak injury and then the comeback tale everyone is hoping is completed with a happy ending.”
Kevin Durant: “I’m not leaving Oklahoma. What ya’ll keep asking me for?”
Orlando matched Dallas’ offer for Marcin Gortat and somebody wasn’t that thrilled about it: “Marcin Gortat was looking forward to playing for the Mavericks, according to his agent. The Magic surprised, and disappointed, Gortat when they matched the five-year, $34 million offer sheet he signed with Dallas. Agent Guy Zucker said the center “was definitely very disappointed” on Monday when Orlando matched the offer.” Read more…
John Denton, writing for ESPN, says the best player in Orlando was Russell Westbrook: “When Russell Westbrook was in Orlando last summer, he was mostly an afterthought as scouts, coaches, media and even players clamored to see 2008′s top pick, Derrick Rose, square off against No. 2 pick Michael Beasley. This summer, however, Westbrook had the stage all to himself with Rose not playing summer ball and Miami not fielding a team. And Westbrook proved himself to be far and away the best player in Orlando.”
Henry Abbott with some Summer League thoughts: “Is two Summer League sessions one too many? The Thunder, the only team playing in both Summer Leagues, just came off five games in five days in Orlando, with most of their primary names logging big minutes. The team looked exhausted Sunday in its 86-57 loss to Memphis. The Thunder recorded 22 turnovers, but only 20 field goals.”
It wasn’t the most entertaining game in the world that’s for sure. It was a lot of running around, turning the ball over, getting beat on the boards and knuckle ball jump shots. I guess the explanation was that it is just summer league, but I have to admit it was a bit of a letdown after some of the good play on display last week in Orlando.
Anyway, I don’t want to get too down about this. The summer league is a tool first and foremost. It lets the coaching staff see how the new guys play with and against their peers. It gives them starting points to work on with these players.
None of the “regulars” got big minutes. Harden, White and Ibaka all got less than 20 minutes, and Westbrook and Livingston got less than 25.
The Turnovers as a team were really pretty bad. It was a lot of sloppy plays and disjointed offensive execution. Russell was the “reckless” Russell that we see sometimes; driving into traffic and getting swarmed and swiped. He had 4 turns in 23 minutes. By my notes, two were his fault, two were not.
Ibaka was knuckleballing most of his shots tonight, but he’s been very efficient in the Summer league prior to tonight. He airballed a two foot hook shot.
Speaking of Ibaka, I think the team is looking at him with a mind to see if he can get a few garbage minutes at the 5 next year. He’s a real run/jump kind of guy with a nose for the ball around the basket. If the Thunder want to play small/fast for a stretch he could be an option. He can make shots, but he’s not a pick and pop guy like White, Krstic and Mullins.
D.J. White is a smooth offensive player who never seems to be in a rush, and doesn’t really force anything. He did have four boards in his 17 minutes. Read more…
Onward to Vegas. The Thunder Summer League roster will shed a few players and pick up some replacements. (If you want to watch the games, you can get all Summer League games for the low, low price of $14.99 by clicking here or you could click here… shhhhhhhhhhh.) Westbrook is just playing one game Sunday and Tony Durant is a late addition, likely stepping in for Kyle Weaver who is doubtful after injuring his thumb in Orlando.
ROSTER
Russell Westbrook
Shaun Livingston
D.J. White
Serge Ibaka
Moses Ehambe
Robert Vaden
Byron Mullens
DeVon Hardin
James Harden
Kyle Weaver
Marcus Dove (F) – VOO Verviers-Pepinster/Oklahoma State
I’ve always liked Marcus Dove for some reason. Watching him shut down Adam Morrison was almost as fun as seeing a guy go off for 50. Defensively, he’s an extremely gifted player at 6-foot-9, which is why I’m a little surprised he hasn’t gotten much of a look. But as good as he is defensively, he’s as bad offensively. At OSU he took bad shots and was incapable of putting together consistent stretches of offensive play. He played last season in Belgium and averaged 10.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg, shooting 56 percent (but was just 1-13 from three). He’s got ability and I hope one day he catches on with someone. And he’s worth watching if for nothing else because of those incredibly thick, almost mutant eyebrows. Read more…
The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard James Harden, center Byron Mullens and forward Serge Ibaka to contracts, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
(Morning party people. Thank you for your support of Daily Thunder. Talk amongst yourselves.)
With the Sergeant of Slam, Serge Ibaka, knocking our socks off with his skill in Orlando last week, he’s kind of all I’ve been thinking about lately. And while he won the Spanish League slam dunk contest back last September, this video is sort of relevant again. There’s really no way to describe his winning, TRUE free throw line flush. Majestic? Soaring? Freaking long? Behold Ibaka’s awesomeness starting at the 1:42 mark.
It’s Friday afternoon and I’ve watched five straight days of Summer League basketball, writing nearly 10,000 words total about it. My brain needs a release…
I haven’t heard Serge Ibaka speak yet in an interview, but we can only hope he sounds like Dikembe Mutombo. I’d be thrilled at the prospect of hearing that voice for at least the next four or five years. But I think it’s very cool that Moses Ehambe has been serving as his makeshift interpreter. Just another wonderful example of how on top of things this franchise is. They’re bringing over a guy that speaks little to no English and so what do they do? Add a teammate to the roster that speaks his language and can help him feel comfortable while he learns English. The Oklahoma City Thunder: Ahead of the Game.
I have come to the conclusion that cycling is far more impressive than NASCAR. Blah, blah, blah they’re going 200 miles per hour and it’s super hot in their cars. I don’t care. Watch 15 minutes of those guys pedaling like crazy at speeds of 35 miles per hour while two inches away from each other. All while slamming down some water and eating a Gogurt or whatever the crap that stuff is. AND THEY’RE NOT JUST PUSHING A PEDAL SITTING ON THEIR BUTT. They’re riding like 75 miles a day on a bike. Tell me that’s not impressive. Boring to watch, yes, but impressive nonetheless.
Five things we learned this week in Orlando: Read more…
James Harden – 14.8 ppg (25.6 per 48), 3.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.4 turnovers per game, 53 percent from the field, 40 percent from three (6-15). Grade: A+
Well color me giddy and happy and tingly all over. Harden looks like he’s ready to make a major impact on this team. He slashes, he passes, he scores, he shoots. But wait, there’s more! He’s just so cool and collected on the court. He played a little point guard Thursday and a lot Friday. I think that’s one of the advantages to Harden’s creating ability – you can move Westbrook off the ball if you want to play them together or Harden can just run point and you can move any and everybody around. Oklahoma City may have the most versatile roster in the league this year. No really. (One interesting stat: Harden actually led the team in defensive rebounds. Now Ibaka and D.J. White just played four games and Harden played four and half, but still.)
Nobody was more surprising in Orlando than Serge Ibaka. He went from fringe D-Leaguer to possibly a certain rotation player in just five days. You can’t say enough about how polished his offensive skill set looked. He had post moves, he had an elbow jumper, he could put the ball on the floor and he could face up. You would’ve loved to have seen his rebounding numbers been more in the 5-7 a game territory but I’ll take what we got. I know I’m ready to buy my Serge Ibaka replica jersey. Read more…
The Las Vegas Summer League starts today, but Oklahoma City doesn’t play until Sunday. The Thunder do play at 10 a.m. today to wrap up the Orlando Pro Summer League. Russell Westbrook will not be playing, I’ve heard. Let’s just be economical and make this an open thread for the game as well as your typical bolts. (Click HEREto watch the game.)
James Harden says he’s not intimidated by Kobe: “When he starts trying to defend the likes of Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, he may find himself a little more blistered than he thinks. “Kobe is the best player in the world, but he laces up his shoes just like I lace up mine,” Harden said earlier this week. “Sure, I’ll get a welcome-to-the-NBA moment, but it’s just basketball. I’ve played against him before [in the summer]. I won’t be intimidated.”
Susan Bible of HoopsWorld on Robert Vaden: “He’s counting on the Thunder recognizing his value. “Hopefully I can make the final roster,” he shared. “I’m just going out there, trying to play hard, make sure I’m playing good defense because that’s a lot of questions a lot of teams had about me was my defense. Everybody knows I can shoot the ball, so I’m just trying to make sure I can play on that end of the court.” Read more…
interesting one
another year off of the calendar. But the maturing Thunder also used the third overall pick in the first round to select a card-carrying shooting guard named James Harden. What Harden provides is a legitimate two guard whose presence will continue to discourage anyone affiliated with personnel groupings to put Kevin Durant back at shooting guard, where he couldn’t defend a bear in a phone booth.”
it may be tougher to find an older soul in the league than baby-faced, rail-thin 23-year-old Shaun Livingston. Before even hitting the age where car insurance begins to come relatively cheap, the 6-foot-7 point guard has been a prodigy, a budding star, the victim of a horrific freak injury and then the comeback tale everyone is hoping is completed with a happy ending.”
in Orlando last summer, he was mostly an afterthought as scouts, coaches, media and even players clamored to see 2008′s top pick, Derrick Rose, square off against No. 2 pick Michael Beasley. This summer, however, Westbrook had the stage all to himself with Rose not playing summer ball and Miami not fielding a team. And Westbrook proved himself to be far and away the best player in Orlando.”
a.m. today to wrap up the Orlando Pro Summer League. Russell Westbrook will not be playing, I’ve heard. Let’s just be economical and make this an open thread for the game as well as your typical bolts. (Click 
